Immigration
Mexican officials found more than 3,000 migrants in two days
The interceptions came as Mexico increased its highway enforcement operations
January 25, 2022 1:36pm
Updated: January 26, 2022 11:08am
Mexican authorities intercepted more than 3,000 undocumented migrants in the past 48 hours, the country's National Migration Institute (INM) reported on Sunday.
The latest interception of migrants took place in Veracruz after agents from the INM stopped a semi-trailer truck carrying 334 undocumented migrants inside. Fifty-four others were found in a charter bus near Acayucan.
Some 319 captured migrants were part of a caravan of Haitians, Central Americans, and South Americans headed to the United States that got lost after departing from Tapachula. Many of the migrants included families with small children.
More than 24 migrants were found inside a fake ambulance in Oaxaca. Another 57 were found in the sleeping compartment of a semi on the Metahuala-Monterrey Highway, and 21 more were seized in Tabasco.
The drivers of the vehicles were turned over to Mexican authorities for prosecution, adults were sent to detention centers, and families were sent to Mexico’s Family Protective Service.
The high number of interceptions comes after Mexico increased its highway enforcement in an effort to stop the record number of undocumented migrants crossing their borders in 2021.
“These highway operations, performed with the support and cooperation of (local) governments in Mexico are meant to sustain an orderly, secure and (lawful) migration, with strict adherence to the human rights of people on the move through our national territory,” the INM said in a statement.
